Holtby came through when needed most
Despite struggles this season, Washington’s former Vezina winner always kept faith in ability
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Most of the conversation between the coach and the goaltender has remained private, but the Washington Capitals’ Barry Trotz revealed one exchange with Braden Holtby that left an impression. After Trotz informed Holtby he had decided to go with Philipp Grubauer to start the post-season, Holtby responded with conviction.
“If I get a chance to come back in the net, I’ll stop the puck,” Trotz recalled Holtby saying.
Trotz’s decision didn’t come as a surprise — Grubauer had comfortably outplayed Holtby over the second half of the season — but it was still a startling fall for the goaltender who had won the Vezina Trophy in 2016, was a finalist for the award again last season and then was named an all-star this year.
“I think there’s no secret that he’s not happy that he didn’t start,” forward Brett Connolly said of Holtby.
Goaltenders are often considered the weirdos in NHL locker-rooms and mental fortitude at the position can be just as important as physical ability. Along with losing his starting job, Holtby could have lost his confidence and that would have lost the Capitals their first-round series when Trotz put Holtby back in the starting role with Washington in a 2-0 hole to Columbus.
But Holtby didn’t doubt himself and over the next four starts he was the Capitals’ best player with a .935 save percentage and a 1.92 goals-against average. Washington stormed back in the series with four straight wins to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Holtby’s next test is the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the team that has beaten him the last two post-seasons. Perhaps he has never been more prepared for the challenge.
“There are times when I just put too much pressure on myself to be perfect and that never works,” Holtby said. “That’s just one of those things that you look back on and you realize those little adjustments mentally and sometimes physically can make you better. That’s why adversity and those type of things, you can use them in a positive way.” Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby said self-doubt ‘never crossed my mind’ this season.
Of all the things that seemingly could go wrong for the Capitals, goaltending was never believed to be one of them entering the season. Salary cap constraints and the Vegas expansion draft cost them three blue-liners. The forward corps also took a hit with the loss of two top-six wingers.
But the changes in the rest of the lineup meant change in the way the team played in front of Holtby. Washington went from defensively structured to chaotic with Holtby under siege more often and forced to stop more attempts from pointblank range.
“There’s probably too much going on the goalie, whether it’s positive or negative, just because he’s the last guy back there,” defenceman Brooks Orpik said. “There were parts of the season where we didn’t play very well in front of him and a lot of his numbers were reflective of that and weren’t really reflective of the way he was playing. It was more the quality of chances we were giving up.”
He weathered it for the first half of the season, keeping the Capitals afloat through their growing pains, but his play declined in the second half. He was 2-5-2 in February with an .873 save percentage and 4.62 goals-against average.
Why didn’t Holtby doubt himself then, during the worst stretch of his career?
“It never crossed my mind,” Holtby said. “I think a lot of it is you just break it down — some circumstantial and some things you could do better. It was not as bad as everyone thought that it was and it’s the same thing as things are never as good as people think they are, too. It was just a little adjustment here and there. That’s the way hockey goes sometimes.”